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Ex-cop claims he is innocent

During a brief conversation in a holding cell at the Mesa County Jail late Thursday, Glenn Coyne proclaimed his innocence after he was told he’d been fired from the Grand Junction Police Department, according to Deputy Chief John Zen.

Coyne, 35, said little before he was ordered held on $250,000 bond in a brief hearing Friday before County Court Judge Bruce Raaum, who advised Coyne of possible penalties, including lifetime supervision or prison, if convicted of first-degree sexual assault and first-degree burglary.

Coyne will be formally charged Oct. 8 before District Court Judge Richard Gurley.

Raaum’s high bond was set just after District Attorney Pete Hautzinger had argued for a $100,000 bond. Hautzinger called Coyne’s case “extraordinarily aggravated.”

Coyne’s arrest affidavit has been filed under seal.

Patrick Gentzler, a public defender who spoke on Coyne’s behalf Friday, told the judge the officer is married with two children and is a homeowner. Coyne’s former position as a police officer means he will be under continuous threat while incarcerated at the jail, Gentzler said. He argued Coyne should be allowed to post a personal recognizance bond.

Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Heather Benjamin said Coyne is being housed in a segregated wing of the jail, apart from the general inmate population.

Coyne is accused of sexually assaulting a woman, inside her home, after he worked a shift that ended around 1 a.m. Tuesday. Coyne was one of several officers who were dispatched to the woman’s home on Sunday. The woman had called for assistance in a matter involving her 16-year-old son, interim Grand Junction Police Chief John Camper said Friday.

Camper said there is no evidence suggesting Coyne knew the woman prior to Sunday.

With Coyne’s firing, the department still owes the former officer slightly more than $6,000 for hours he had already worked, overtime and unused leave, according to police spokeswoman Kate Porras.

Prior to his employment with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department between February 2006 and January 2007, Coyne worked for the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Department in Florida just under four years.

According to the agency’s human resources department, he was hired in November 2002 before resigning in February 2006.

Information on his performance in Florida wasn’t immediately available Friday.

“He seemed professional in his job and a fine officer when he was with this agency,” Santa Rosa Sgt. Scott Haynes said.